EMS: A New Form of False Memory Syndrome
Visit any twelve step group and you will be encouraged to admit your former faults and wrong doings. Support groups feel that “confession is good for the soul”. Members are encouraged to confess to “how they used to be” and what they might have done. Group therapy also encourages disclosure about whatever might encourage one to carry guilt. Members are rewarded for their confessions with enthusiastic rounds of applause. It seems the worse you were, the worse the confession, the more enthusiastically they are rewarded. For many this affirmation and attention is something they have not encountered for a long time. As members disclose their memories and wrong doings, a kind of “oneupmanship” begins to take place. This can lead individuals to exaggerate recall of all kinds of events. In some cases, the individual will invent experiences in order to have something impressive to supply to the group. Exaggerated Memory syndrome is similar to false memory syndrome in that the lines of reality and fantasy can be become blurred. Some individuals in support groups or twelve step groups repeat these “memories” until they believe they actually occurred. Memories clouded by substance usage, the passage of time and the desire for acceptance blend together to permit exaggerated memory recall. Often the individual confessing does not even have a clear recollection of the time or event in question. One can infer that this must occur in individual therapy as well, with the counselor’s feedback taking the place of the praise provided in group settings.
Anonymous surveys distributed, by the author, to two thousand participants in support groups, twelve step groups and group therapy showed that a significant twenty two percent of respondent answered “yes” when asked if they had ever admitted something in a meeting that was exaggerated. Almost fully one fourth of the population admitted to embellishing when speaking to a group. Fifteen percent said they had admitted something that they were later not sure to be positively true. Thirty one percent said there are periods of time or incidents they do not remember fully.
In light of this, any confession that is offered in a twelve step or support group has to be considered suspect. This particular climate obviously encourages and rewards the ‘baring of one’s soul”. The problem seems to be that there is no way to safely assume that what is being bared is the truth. This is similar to when a false memory is implanted by suggestion and the client is rewarded for repeating it. In that case, the reward may only be attention and praise from the counselor, yet that has been proven to be more than enough. Group therapy and twelve step groups reward any kind of confession in a similar fashion. However, in the case of their case the praise comes from an entire group of people.
Group praise and attention is a powerful reward, especially to those with may be suffering from low self esteem. When the way to become the “star of the group” is to have had the most impressive transformation, those who have started out in the worst place (or done the worst thing) have a leg up. False memory syndrome and exaggerate memory recall are both examples of how individuals can fall prey to falsely confessing to acts they have not committed. Whether you are a clinician or an attorney, you should be alert to the existence of exaggerated memory recall.
